Merci pour votre question.
As Mr. Donnelly was saying, enrolment numbers in English primary and secondary schools have been dwindling. That is a main issue. I truly believe that English schools are centres of community vitality for our communities. When enrolment dwindles, those schools can potentially close down. They're not just centres of learning, but places where there are extracurricular activities for kids. They are places where parents and kids forge lasting friendships. They are not just friendships, but also social capital. I continue to draw on the relationships I have with people from the English schools I attended, and I think that's tremendously important.
Schools are also centres of economic activity. They're very important places of employment for our communities. Many of my friends are teachers in English schools. I don't know what they would do otherwise. They would have to leave if those schools closed down. That's one important aspect to consider.
The other important aspect is that we really need greater integration into French society. When I say great integration I'm not just talking about better, more advanced French language skills, because I think there is already an attempt at that. I'm also talking about bridging some divides, so I'm talking about biculturalism as well.
I'll give you an example. I went to a regional high school and there was a French side and an English side. We referred to them as the French side and the English side because there were no attempts to harmonize activities between the schools. A very clear division happened on the playground. This is a testament to what we have referred to as the two solitudes that happen. There needs to be a concerted effort to harmonize that.
The two sides are administered by a French and an English school board, but I don't think that should be a barrier to creating further integration. As Sylvia was saying, language is not the main issue; it's also biculturalism and allowing anglophones and francophones to feel like we get each other, in so many words.